Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A lot of not-to-be-missed political news and opinion

My wife's former mother-in-law (from her first marriage), Erma Hecke died Monday at 96, so Bonnie is off with her daughter Julie and family for the funeral in Southern Illinois. Another challenge to juggle. ~Bob

Excerpt: To offset the unremittingly positive and optimistic tone of my esteemed comrade Col. Tom Kratman’s pieces on this site, an opportunity was presented to Your Humble Correspondent to produce some words with a somewhat less Pollyannaish tone, in this particular case on why modern civilization is both fragile and brittle, why minor changes in environment and context can have catastrophic effects and why, if we’re not very lucky in the next few years, we’ll have seen the high-water mark of our economy and our culture.

Excerpt: In the poll, 56 percent of Americans said the U.S. military response to the Islamic State group has not gone far enough, up from 46 percent since October 2014. ... Just 28 percent in the survey said Obama had clearly explained the United States' goals in fighting the Islamic State, while 68 percent said he had not. Eighty-eight percent of Republicans and 66 percent of independents said the president had not clearly explained the goals, and even among Democrats 51 percent agreed.

Bangladesh: Muslims set off bombs in Hindu temple, shoot at people fleeing. By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org

Excerpt: A sheriff's detective who won praise for his bold shepherding of frightened people out of the Southern California building where a couple opened fire last week shrugged off his heroism and new-found celebrity, saying he was only doing what was necessary and that the sight of a terrified child had inspired him. "Try to relax everyone, try to relax, I'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure," Det. Jorge Lozano said in a video captured in the hallway of the Inland Regional Center as he escorted employees and others who had been stranded in a hallway as the shootings went on in a conference room. On Tuesday he talked about the moment for the first time at a news conference of first responders to the shootings. (The video of the press conference is well done, and shows off the local police and sheriff departments really nicely. I did notice the comments from two of the officers, the one who calmed people and told them he'd take a bullet first, and the one who was wounded in the final gunfight. --Del)

Excerpt: The Pakistani woman who killed 14 people with her husband in San Bernardino earlier this month, openly advocated violent jihad on her social media accounts before coming to the U.S., but government officials approved her fiancee visa anyway, The New York Times reports...But, as The Times notes, immigration officials rarely check applicants’ social media posts for red flags. ...As one former senior Homeland Security Investigations officials told The Times, visa applicants’ identities are run against federal terror watch list databases, and if the person is not flagged during that process, they are usually not subject to further investigation. (Per article, regime has sexual bias; the narrative runs that women/children not a threat; therefore, women not scrutinized as closely as men. In other words, don't ask, don't tell; we don't give a darn. And we PAY these civil servants to do this to us with our tax dollars, twice what we make in the private sector. --Barb)

Excerpt: Coughlin explains in this video interview that both political parties appear increasingly more worried about not being called “a bigot” than in protecting American citizens from emerging threats. Asked here to comment on the disregard by the Obama administration for keeping Americans safe from terror with inadequate immigrant vetting, open borders and the release of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, this author focuses on the cultural and political narratives that demonstrate a form of information warfare. Coughlin, co-founder of Unconstrained Analytics, and author of “Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad,” exposes further evidence of political leaders subscribing to a multi-cultural narrative that puts us in danger and prevents officials from seeing threats emanating from “a religion of peace.” (Per history, every time Obama says ISIL or Daesh--as he calls ISIS--is JV Team, contained or not a threat to US, guess what? Picture a matador waving a red flag in front of an angry bull. --Barb)

Excerpt: The Islamic State has released two chilling new videos, one depicting its apocalyptic vision of the end of the world and the other issuing a series of threats against Western cities. The apocalyptic video has been titled, "Meeting at Dabiq," which refers to a city in Syria where Sunni Islam believes a final battle will take place between the "Crusaders" of the West and the "Believers" of Islam. The video also shows an ISIS "armored unit" advancing toward the Coliseum in reference to the "armies of Rome," the Mirror reported. (Armored unit courtesy of the US. --Barb)

UK cop: “There are areas we have to ask Muslim leaders’ permission to patrol.” By Robert Spencer, JihadWatch.org

Excerpt: Everyone knows this is true, and not just in the UK, but it is one of the many simple and obvious truths that will run you afoul of the Thought Police for pointing out. In any case, it is a clear sign of a society in serious crisis and in imminent danger of collapse.

Excerpt: I have a confession to make. It’s not pretty. Indeed, given the argot of the day, it’s pretty terrifying. You see, I’ve been ”radicalized.”

Why, I am even going to take a course to qualify for a pistol permit, this coming from a guy who once wrote, and still believes, that repeal of the Second Amendment would be a good idea — the world would be better without guns. But I’ve been radicalized, you see. Maybe a gun or two isn’t such a bad thing. (Norm is a criminal defense attorney in New Haven, defending the bottom feeders in this corner of the world. Also a flaming liberal. And he's been writing an opinion column for a while, appearing pretty much weekly.

But lately he's been drifting to the right...this week actually plunging... What makes this one so interesting is that he starts by talking about getting a gun, and then discussing the roots of radicalization. And then there's the comments...the first few offering advise on what kind of gun to get. --George)

Secret’s Out, Look What Muslim Diplomat’s Son Was Just Caught Doing In NYC

Excerpt: Muhammad's 20-year-old son, Mehmood Rahimoon, was just following the Quran and his Islamic faith, when he tracked down a nice young girl to make his sexual slave and insulted the child's father. According to the New York Daily News, the perpetrator, who goes by Rey, used an anonymous messaging phone app called Whisper to engage in conversations with young girls and groom them to later take them to places where he would rape them. An unnamed 13-year-old girl from the Bronx took Rey's bait after three weeks of messaging each other, when she, along with a friend, met up with the Pakistani pervert at the River Road Motor Inn in Woodlawn. Rey raped the girl and made her friend fondle his private parts, which they were in the midst of doing when one of the victim's fathers called his daughter's cell phone and Rey answered. (Rapes in Scandinavia have skyrocketed in the past few years, with 90+% of them being committed by young Muslim men. It seems they just don't have any regard for women in general and feel perfectly justified in taking advantage of them any way they can. Here is a story about a young man from a family obviously upper class, with education and money, who decided to use the Internet to troll for stupid young girls. He succeeded (I do have to say girls like this are somehow incredibly stupid, but that doesn't mean it's OK to rape them), but was caught. I don't agree that anywhere in the Islamic holy books it says to go out and rape women in general, although it is said you can take women captive in war and then do with them what you like. As Mohammed did himself. But even in a Muslim society this picking up 13 year old girls for the purpose of rape would not be condoned, although it might not be taken as seriously as we Westerners do. I hope the kid goes in for a few years in the NY prison system. Maybe he'll learn more about rape there. --Del. In a Muslim Society it would depend on the religion of the girl. But teen rape victims have been stoned to death for reporting it, and absent four male Muslim witnesses as required by Shari'a law, were found guilty of adultery. He will likely be shipped back to Pakistan by the administration to avoid charges of islamophobia and anti-American demonstration. It's his culture and who are we to judge. ~Bob)

Remember When Trump Thought It Was Bad Form for Pamela Geller to Antagonize Muslims?

Excerpt: Not long after signing the nuclear deal, the ruling clerics of the Islamist state of Iran have clearly breached the agreement and several of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. What is the Obama administration's response? He is turning a blind eye to this vital issue. The administration is ignoring these blatant violations and continuing with its efforts to lift sanctions on the Ayatollah’s regime. (Yep, the ink isn't all that dry yet, the full deal isn't into implementation yet, but the ayatollahs have already gone ahead with actions that violate the deal, in utter, proud defiance of all the UN resolutions and agreements. But we shouldn't worry about The Deal that Obama et al have made, it will all be just peachy keen A-OK. No way they'd ever cheat on a word of it. Sure.... I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn, NY, classic construction, pretty well maintained, and available for really reasonable terms, cash or precious metals only. Maybe I can sell that to Kerry and his friends too. --Del. Obama is a war president in much the same way that Caitlin Jenner is a woman. ~Bob)

Excerpt: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years and freed in exchange for five detainees in GuantanamoBay, will face charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy in a general court-martial, the Army announced on Monday.

If convicted, Bergdahl could get life in prison on the misbehavior charge and up to five years for desertion. He also could be dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank and made to forfeit all pay. (Interesting that after the investigating officer from the preliminary hearing recommended the low level hearing which would have barely gotten Bergdahl a slap on the wrist, the brass decided to go full bore on this. I am pleasantly amazed, and hope they manage to come down with a solid case that at least gets him bounced with a DD and no back pay. The only worry I have is that by going to the higher court with enough pressure from above (like the White House), they might just find him not guilty of the charges as being too aggressive for what he did. Let's hope that nightmare doesn't come to pass. --Del. It will take brave officers to convict him, knowing Obama will trash their careers. ~Bob)

Excerpt: Yesterday, YouGov and the Huffington Post released a poll showing that large majorities of Americans — and pluralities across every political demographic — have an “unfavorable opinion” of the Islamic faith. The numbers are simply not close:

Do you want to know what the single-most dangerous false belief in the country is right now? “ISIL is not going to pose an existential threat to us,” President Obama said. “They are a dangerous organization like al Qaeda was, but we have hardened our defenses. Our homeland has never been more protected by more effective intelligence and law enforcement professionals at every level than they are now.” Obama made that statement the afternoon of Wednesday, December 4, as two Islamist terrorists who had pledged loyalty to ISIS were shooting up San Bernardino.

Former DHS Official Says Fear Of Bad Optics Keeps Agency From Reviewing Visa Applicants’ Social Media

Excerpt: “Immigration, security, law enforcement officials recognized at the time that it was important to more extensively review public social media postings because they offered potential insights into whether somebody was an extremist or potentially connected to a terrorist organization or a supporter of the movement,” Cohen told ABC News during a segment on “Good Morning America.” Cohen said that top officials at DHS, including deputy secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, discussed greater social media vetting with representatives at the DHS Office of Civil Liberties and the Office of Privacy. “The primary concern was that it would be viewed negatively if it was disclosed publicly, and there were concerns that it would be embarrassing,” Cohen recalled. (OCLU and OOP also reportedly responsible for shutting down the 2012 investigation into male shooter and friend prematurely, which might have prevented incident and development of "cells." Get the picture? The government is no longer of the people, for the people or by the people....just their narrative. Don't expect them to protect you; destroying the police and army that might. NOW you know why several sheriffs have said "If you can carry, do, now." --Barb)

Excerpt: The Department of Homeland Security has operated a program to monitor ordinary Americans’ social media discussions about the agency’s policy directives, even though it had in place another policy prohibiting agents from checking visa applicants’ social media accounts for possible signs of terrorist leanings. The agency’s policy against vetting visa applicants was revealed on Monday by John Cohen, a former DHS under-secretary for intelligence and analysis. Now an intelligence analyst at ABC News, Cohen says that last year, DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson resisted changing the agency’s policy against viewing visa applicants’ social media accounts as part of the screening process to let them into the U.S. (Obama's hand-picked black man for DHS, marches to the narrative. --Barb)

Excerpt: "As we are seeing in France, and have seen elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East, jihadism thrives when it has a support system of sharia-adherent Muslims. In Europe this means - as it would mean here - enclaves of assimilation-resistant Muslims... it is from the assimilation-resistance Islamic communities that future ‘homegrown' jihadists will emerge - and that is apart from the material and moral support jihadists get from like-minded Islamists in these communities."

Excerpt: Despite the murder of at least 1200 Americans, including service personnel at Khobar Towers; despite lying about its nuclear weapons program; despite the largest terrorist attack in the western hemisphere before 9/11 that killed 85 Argentinians; despite support for Hamas and Hezbollah attacks against Israel; despite trumped up charges against Americans who have been imprisoned or murdered; despite being a refuge for al Qaeda leadership; despite the apparent murder of Alberto Nisman who was investigating the terror attack in Buenos Aires; despite the cries of "death to America;" despite repeated cyber attacks against the U.S. ; despite the export of weapons to Syria and Yemen in violation of the arms embargo; despite the egregious violation of the nuclear accord with the UN Security Council with the testing of nuclear capable ICBMs; despite all of this and so much more that hasn't been mentioned, the United States (READ OBAMA--JB) continues to assert that with the nuclear deal now completed - albeit still not signed by Iranian leaders - Iran will enter the ranks of a responsible nation.

Excerpt: Playing into the hands of ISIS” is the new Beltway mantra. The finger-shaking by the administration and its supporters warns Americans not to give in to their supposedly natural biases against Muslims. Never mind that FBI statistics show that Jews in this country are the objects of hate crimes at nearly four times the rate of Muslims. It is mysteriously never reported who are the main perpetrators of hate crimes against Jews. In any case, when the administration alleges Islamophobia, it assumes that if it did not, ISIS might announce to Muslims worldwide, “We told you so,” to confirm its suspicions of American prejudices toward Islam.

Excerpt: Any combat veteran will tell you that unit cohesion is everything in battle. Common sense tells us that putting young men and women in the prime of their sexual lives together in the field, where the possibility of death is potentially imminent, is a potential — and unnecessary — gamble on unit cohesion. There is, after all, nothing like a funeral to remind the living of their mortal imperative. Sexual tension is a most delightful distraction in civilian life. But in close quarters, where men likely would vastly outnumber the few women who qualify for combat, other human emotions — envy, jealousy and resentment — enter into a fray that’s already complicated enough.

Excerpt: "Well look he's from Texas -- to the best of my knowledge, there's a lot of oil in Texas, right? So, he gets a lot of money from the oil companies, and he's against ethanol and everything you're else talking about. And I'm not I'm totally in favor. And you know it's a big industry here, it's a big industry. You know if that industry is upset Iowa's got problems," Trump said to the crowd of about 1,500, composed of Iowans from special interest groups. (Only a TRUE conservative stands for ethanol and Senate collegiality, right, Trump fans? --Jim Geraghty, Morning Jolt.)

The Edge: Trump gets 25 times more media mentions than GOP field combined

Excerpt: Donald Trump is not a keeper, not the one you want to marry. He’s never going to make you happy. For now, he's going to say what makes you happy, and for now he's going to make a lot of the right people go nuts, but if you get hitched he’ll cheat on you with the liberals. At the end of the day, you’ll walk out of the courtroom wearing a barrel while Trump and the pool boy jet off to Tahiti on your dime.

Excerpt: President Obama talks a lot about the scientific method. On climate change, he has often invoked the idea of a great divide between those on the progressive left, such as himself, who believe in “settled science” and thus a looming man-caused climatological disaster, and those, presumably on the Neanderthal Right, who are slaves to superstition, ideology, prejudice, and self-interest—and thus deny that the planet is rapidly warming due to inordinate human-induced releases of excessive carbon. Obama’s view of science is reductionist. It relies on count-em-up numbers: if more university professors (not known to be an especially independent or courageous cohort) believe in dangerous man-caused climate change than doubt it or its seriousness, and if climate change fits a larger progressive agenda, then it becomes factual.

Excerpt: In response to remarks made by Sen. Marco Rubio laying out his vision for VA reform and attacks by Rep. Ruben Gallego and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on both Sen. Rubio’s vision for VA reform and CVA’s Veterans Independence Act, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) CEO Pete Hegseth issued the following statement: (I'm not sure there is any easy, perfect way to fix everything about the VA, but what I'm sure of is that after what we've seen and learned the last couple of year, SOMETHING has to be done to at least move in a better direction. The CVA guys are really good on this, and I'm glad that Rubio has at least shown interest in how to improve things. Let' hope this goes somewhere. --Del)

Excerpt: While going back to renewables is the stated goal of climate-change activists, Horner said there’s a good reason we moved away from it generations ago. “We’re not going back to that,” he said. “We left it. It was a time of much-shortened lifespans, disease, drudgery and mortality, crop failures leading to catastrophe and so on.” (You know if Obama and Kerry are pleased as punch, that all Heck is about to break loose on America. Mud huts, crickets, no A/C; forget minimum wages, free college educations and healthcare. Redistribution goals to Africa et all with their natural resources to be harvested by the multiglobals, increasing their power, while pretending they care about the sick and poor of undeveloped countries. They're getting really good at sneaking these "announcements" in on Fri and Sat when folks are busy Christmas/holiday shopping or watching football games....Barb)

Excerpt: U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show nearly 5,000 unaccompanied immigrant children were caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in October, almost double the number from October 2014. Immigration experts say the numbers, released Tuesday, show that the flow of immigrants from Central America has remained high at a time of year when it usually drops. Some 6,000 family members traveling together also were apprehended last month — nearly triple from October 2014. (How do they get to the border? ~Bob)

Excerpt: Like an avalanche, the Affordable Care Act has swept through the RockyMountainState, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. At the end of 2013, 335,000 cancellation notices went out to customers whose plans were now deemed illegal by federal regulators. Nearly 200,000 cancellations for the same reason will come at the end of this year. As for Colorado HealthOP, the state’s co-op, which was the largest insurer on the ObamaCare exchange, it shut down in October, leaving more than 80,000 members without coverage. Huge premium increases loom for the remaining exchange plans: an average of 11.7%, according to the state’s calculation. (There are those who have thought from the start that the people who drew it up figured the ACA was the best way to make a huge mess out of national health care, so that in the end, Congress would be forced to cancel it out in favor of a national plan like the UK and Canada. The holy grail of socialist thought is single payer health care, despite the fact that while it has some good points, evidence shows it has more than enough downsides to give anyone pause. And as the experience in Vermont showed, instituting it here runs up a tax bill so huge that nobody in any legislative body wants to even think about how to drop that on the citizens. I don't really think ObamaCare was a conspiracy to get to single payer systems, but that, as I've written too many times already, it was founded on concepts that never made any sense in the first place. And those chickens are coming home, one state at a time, to roost. Some have survived better than others, CA so far is OK but that may not last, and only time will tell as the last parts of the plan come into play and the actual statistical experiences of the insurers become fully known. Chances are good it's all going to keep going downhill, and we'll see by 2017 what the new leadership will be ready to consider then. --Del)

Excerpt: To offset the unremittingly positive and optimistic tone of my esteemed comrade Col. Tom Kratman’s pieces on this site, an opportunity was presented to Your Humble Correspondent to produce some words with a somewhat less Pollyannaish tone, in this particular case on why modern civilization is both fragile and brittle, why minor changes in environment and context can have catastrophic effects and why, if we’re not very lucky in the next few years, we’ll have seen the high-water mark of our economy and our culture.

From San Fran to Santa Maria: California Crime is Spiking. By Stephen Frank

Excerpt: The good news is that thanks to terrorists and the effort by Barack Obama to nullify (he can not get it repealed) the Second Amendment, gun sales in California are soaring. Saturday night I was at a party and I met a Bernie Sanders fan. The wife was clear she does not like guns and think they should be outlawed—but now she is getting a gun for protection—she knew the cops can no longer protect her. “A coalition of clergy, educators, police officers and city leaders met in Santa Maria earlier this month in response to the spike in homicides and other gang-related violence that has left three teenagers dead since summer. (I have a very old friend and comrade from the war living in Santa Maria, have been there many times, most recently back in August when I started my long motorcycle trip from there. I know the names of all the small towns that are mentioned in the article. To realize that even in those places are infected with this criminal culture and it's only getting worse is really sad, depressing, and a bit scary. Our society has not figured out how to take this on, and someone better figure out something soon. If only we had some real leadership, really smart people who can think things through for long term strategy. --Del)

THE PUBLISHING GAME - ROLL WITH IT. By Col. Andy Weddington, USMC (Ret)

Excerpt: Among the many sad signs of our time are the current political and media attacks on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for speaking the plain truth on a subject where lies have been the norm for years. The case before the High Court is whether the use of race as a basis for admitting students to the University of Texas at Austin is a violation of the 14th Amendment's requirement for government institutions to provide "equal protection of the laws" to all.

Excerpt: Local Homeland Security agencies are not kept in the loop when the federal agency makes these kinds of decisions.... Much like the government’s decision to not check up on the social media accounts of immigrants from hostile areas of the world, this is a very dangerous lack of security. That local law enforcement is not in any way made aware of when these refugees are coming in is downright neglect of the American people’s safety.

Excerpt: But now she has sunk to a new low. She is accusing the families of the Benghazi dead of being liars. ...Yet family members say she said just that, three days after the attack, at the Sept. 14, 2012, ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base. George Stephanopoulos asked her Sunday if she’d told the victims it was about the film. Clinton gave a flat “no.

Worth Reading: How We Fight in the Twenty-first Century: Winning Battles While Losing Wars

A truly outstanding essay on where we are and how we got here by a distinguished and extremely well qualified writer and combat veteran. The last section is the key one, where he says everything will depend on who enters the White House in January 2017. Heaven help us. --Del

But we welcomed them! Swedish govt in “panic” after ISIS letters give 3 days to convert to Islam or be decapitated